With the Thanksgiving holiday come and gone, we have inched one step closer to the start of the next baseball season. With that in mind, this is part 2 of the Second Base Fantasy Rankings, listing the players who Fantasy Owners will be thankful for over the following year.
12- Ben Zobrist
Projection: .273/.361/.401 10 HR 60 RBI 85 R 9 SB
Zobrist may be getting older and may not have a high ceiling but he still has some productive baseball left in him. He may not be as good as he was a few years ago but he should still provide a solid batting average and there’s a reasonable chance he can at least approach double digit totals for HR & SB.
11- Mookie Betts
Projection: .299/.383/.487 16 HR 65 RBI 75 R 19 SB
Betts also has Outfield eligibility but did play 14 games at 2B last year. In 213 PA last year, Betts played very strongly hitting .291 and demonstrating the ability to hit for some power and steal bases. He is still very young (22) and I think he’s only started to demonstrate what he’s capable of. Assuming he still gets some work at second, I think Betts could easily be in the top-5 at this position within the next few years.
10 – Chase Utley
Projection: .279/.343/.446 16 HR 70 RBI 70 R 8 SB
Granted, Utley does have some question marks surrounding him such as age (35), whether he can stay healthy for consecutive seasons and that he is at least a few years past his prime. Even with these red flags present, I still think there is enough power left in his bat for him to be a reasonable option.
9 – Dee Gordon
Projection: .286/.328/.373 2 HR 35 RBI 75 R 52 SB
For fantasy purposes, Gordon may be a one-trick pony, but it happens to be a trick (Stolen Bases) that he happens to be much, much better than the vast majority of other players at. While his power is basically non-existent, I think he can maintain a reasonable batting average and should have plenty of opportunities to score runs.
8 – Kolten Wong
Projection: .273/.319/.412 17 HR 60 RBI 65 R 32 SB
In 2014, Wong had some ups and downs. While the downs were low enough to send him to the minors, he also looked very impressive during other parts of the season. With Wong’s speed, I have a tough time believing that his .275 BABIP from last year is reflective of what to expect going forward and he should see his Batting Average improve. In addition, he also demonstrated the ability to hit for power and steal bases. Considering that he’s only 24, he’s only going to get better in the future.
7 – Neil Walker
Projection: .273/.339/.458 21 HR 75 RBI 75 R 5 SB
Walker may not be a household name such as Robinson Cano, he may not be someone on the rise such as Kolten Wong, and there is the risk that he may miss some games here and there, but I still think he is worth targeting. He is very capable of hitting in the .270 range and I think that he is very capable of repeating the 20+ HR he hit last year.
6 – Howie Kendrick
Projection: .298/.356/.412 10 HR 70 RBI 75 R 12 SB
Like Walker, Kendrick may not be the flashiest player but he does enough to be worth a look. He’s consistently hit for a strong average and typically has a decent chance to break into double figures for HR & SB.
5 – Brian Dozier
Projection: .248/.356/.450 27 HR 70 RBI 90 R 17 SB
Dozier had a breakout season last year as he displayed 20-20 power. While I don’t think his batting average is going to improve much from his .242 total from last year, and it’s unlikely he’ll repeat his runs scored total of 112, I do think that he is set up to provide strong power and speed totals again in 2015.
4 – Ian Kinsler
Projection: .272/.316/.419 17 HR 80 RBI 95 R 16 SB
While the 30+ HR days of 2009 & 2011 have come and gone, Kinsler still has plenty of value to provide fantasy owners. He still has shown the ability to mix a solid batting average with productive power & speed numbers. One concern regarding Kinsler is that he was a much more aggressive hitter in 2014 than he historically has been. While this didn’t appear to have much impact on most of his stats, his Walk Rate dropped to 4% last year (career total is 8.9%). If opposing pitchers start to adjust for this increasing aggressiveness, there is a risk that he could drop in these rankings.
3 – Robinson Cano
Projection: .316/.381/.468 17 HR 80 RBI 95 R 10 SB
While the move from Yankee Stadium to Safeco field appears to have made a dent in Robinson Cano’s power numbers (something I think will continue into 2015), he still maintains the majority of his value as he consistently hits over .300 and still contributes across the board.
2 – Anthony Rendon
Projection: .287/.358//.459 18 HR 90 RBI 95 R 10 SB
While Rendon has spent the majority of time at 3B, he still appeared at 2B in 28 games last year. Rendon had his breakout season in 2014 and there is no reason to think that his performance will regress in 2015. Assuming he continues to get enough playing time at 2B, Rendon will likely be in the Top-3 of these position rankings for a long time.
1 – Jose Altuve
Projection: .323/.357/.423 7 HR 60 RBI 85 R 38 SB
Altuve had a breakout season last year, hitting .341 and stealing 56 bases. While I think his batting average takes a minor step back (his BABIP last year was 29 points above his career total), he should still hit well above .300 and steal plenty of bases.
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